For its fifth-generation iPod touch, Apple stretched out the screen to 16:9 proportions and shaved off a millimeter of thickness. But while the extra engineering resulted in an improved device, iFixit claims it is actually more difficult to repair than previous generations of the iPod touch.

Like the fourth-gen iPod touch, released after the iPhone 4 in 2010, the new fifth-gen version shares some components and design ideas with its current iPhone sibling. This includes a 1136×640 pixel Retina screen, a 720p FaceTime HD front-facing camera, and an anodized aluminum rear casing. It also has a 1030mAh battery, an 11 percent improvement over the 930 mAh used in the older iPod touch.

But, like the previous generation, it also has many lower-end parts. For instance, the screen is a high-quality IPS panel, but not the same caliber as that of the iPhone 5, according to iFixit. The rear-facing camera is a 5MP autofocus module used on the iPad 3, instead of the iPhone 5's 8MP module. And it is powered by the 32nm die-shrink of last year's A5 processor instead of Apple's latest, custom-designed A6. Like previous iPod touches, the new fifth-gen also lacks dedicated GPS hardware for more accurate location-based applications. And, according to iFixit, the home button is not the same improved, high-quality part Apple used for the iPhone 5.

Enlarge/ The lack of cellular radios, baseband chips, and dedicated GPS hardware makes the iPod touch's logic board much smaller than the iPhone's. Still, it shares many components with its iPhone sibling.

Apple achieved much of the decrease in thickness—at 6.1mm, it's 1.1mm thinner than the previous iPod touch, and 1.5mm thinner than the iPhone 5—through the use of integrated ribbon cables for many of the parts. For instance, the rear-facing camera, volume buttons, microphone, LED flash, and power button are all combined into a single ribbon cable part. "The shift to a single ribbon cable is more cost-effective for the manufacturer, but unfortunately it has a negative impact on repairability," iFixit noted.

Enlarge/ Half a dozen of the iPod touch's parts are integrated into a single ribbon cable.

Unlike the iPhone 5, which iFixit praised for its relative ease of repair, the fifth-gen iPod touch actually scored poorly—3/10, which is worse than the 4/10 for the fourth-gen iPod touch. The drop in score over the previous generation was largely due to reliance on integrated parts that are so tightly packed inside the thin aluminum shell.

"With no external screws, the Touch is tough to pry open, and its logic board utilizes two hard-to-manage ribbon cables," iFixit's Miro Djuric told Ars. "The battery, logic board, front camera, speaker, headphone jack, Lightning connector, and home button switch are all soldered onto one cable, while the volume buttons, power button, LED flash, and rear microphone are all attached to another cable. Repair is not impossible, but it's certainly going to be difficult and expensive if one component breaks."

Who really repairs iPod touches these days? A new one is coming out so often, I really wonder what potential kid is going to want an old, beat up iPod touch when he can get a shiny new one with some new bells and whistles. Sure, you might be saving a few bucks, but you can bet that kid is going to be a lot happier using a new device. And it's not like iPod touches are really that expensive anyway... certainly nothing like dropping a MacBook

This is really nothing new - Apple's iPods (and products in general) have always been rather difficult to repair, particularly when compared to competitors' products. That trend has only magnified as they have made more tightly-packaged and thinner devices (which would account for the need to place multiple components on a single cable, etc). I think it also has something to do with their desire for quality control over their own products which is their own decision to make (and not one I necessary agree with 100%).

At any rate - the majority of the issues I have seen with iPods have been with the screen cracking (when dropped), the internal storage malfunctioning, and (more often) the batter life dwindling. If nothing else, it is my opinion that they should have some easier access to the battery so it could be swapped out rather easily. But, at this point in time, I no longer feel the need for an iPod as I just use my phone for playing music.

Seriously, how many people actually fix these things? I think the iFixit guys just like to take stuff apart.

They sell repair parts and services. So their "repairability" reports are marketing and PR for their core business.

It's smart marketing. You just have to remember what their agenda is and take the hand-wringing over stuff like soldered cables with a grain of salt. Anything that narrows their potential audience by making repair more difficult is bad for their business, even if it's a net positive for 99.99% of consumers (in the form of smaller, more durable, and/or cheaper devices).

I bought a repaired iPod Touch. The original screen cracked. Then I dropped it and the screen disconnected from the rest of the unit. While taking it apart I ended up tearing the digitizer cable and now it just sits in a dock. You can still play music through it but that's about all it's good for.

It's an odd complaint of them to say that the iPod Touch doesn't have screws in it... I don't know if it EVER had screws in it, at least not for the assembly holding the screen to the case.

"the screen is a high-quality IPS panel, but not the same caliber as that of the iPhone 5" guess I was right to be skeptical (instead of being paranoid) -- Apple cutting corners on iPod Touch is not new ...

"the home button is not the same improved, high-quality part Apple used for the iPhone 5" but that is just cheap ... how much more can a better button costs? (should be much less than a better screen)

"no ambient light sensor" was also a hidden cost cutting measure (unknown until the past Monday)

"the screen is a high-quality IPS panel, but not the same caliber as that of the iPhone 5" guess I was right to be skeptical (instead of being paranoid) -- Apple cutting corners on iPod Touch is not new ...

"the home button is not the same improved, high-quality part Apple used for the iPhone 5" but that is just cheap ... how much more can a better button costs? (should be much less than a better screen)

"no ambient light sensor" was also a hidden cost cutting measure (unknown until the past Monday)

Reviews say the display is the same. http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3481 ... eview-2012"The iPod touch’s display is exactly the same one as the iPhone 5 — a 4-inch, 1136 x 640 panel that looks fantastic. It's a much bigger upgrade for the touch, too, which used to have a washed out screen far worse than the iPhone — parity is a huge leap forward."

No Ambient light sensor is not so cool. Can't they use the front facing camera for that? Well I've looked around and it really seems to be omitted. Quite something since the 4th gen had it!

I bought a repaired iPod Touch. The original screen cracked. Then I dropped it and the screen disconnected from the rest of the unit. While taking it apart I ended up tearing the digitizer cable and now it just sits in a dock. You can still play music through it but that's about all it's good for.

It's an odd complaint of them to say that the iPod Touch doesn't have screws in it... I don't know if it EVER had screws in it, at least not for the assembly holding the screen to the case.

There are screws deeper in. If I remember correctly, you need to practically take the whole thing apart to replace the screen because the connector is UNDER the mainboard. If you have a swear jar, fixing an iPod Touch will get you halfway to DisneyLand...

And it's not like iPod touches are really that expensive anyway... certainly nothing like dropping a MacBook

True, but it's not as though everyone has $300 to burn every time a consumer electronics device gets dropped. $300 is a lot of money to most people.

True, but people really should be more careful with their electronics. Get an Otter Case or something similar. I handle all my electronics like they're nuclear warheads thus ensuring I don't need to drop a couple hundred every year fixing stuff that isn't broken.

Its a more technical article, for instance it has the pin layout for the Lighting connector and you also find out where Apple is getting their technology, the camera is from Sony, the Lighting Connector is provided by Taiwan's Foxlink, and the battery is from China's Lishen.

Seriously, how many people actually fix these things? I think the iFixit guys just like to take stuff apart.

They sell repair parts and services. So their "repairability" reports are marketing and PR for their core business.

It's smart marketing. You just have to remember what their agenda is and take the hand-wringing over stuff like soldered cables with a grain of salt. Anything that narrows their potential audience by making repair more difficult is bad for their business, even if it's a net positive for 99.99% of consumers (in the form of smaller, more durable, and/or cheaper devices).

i use fixit as a place of interest to talk about how things are made, and to see inside devices for nerd porn.

the idea of fixing it myself ridiculous, easier to send it back to the company for ailments.

iPod batteries have a limited life and need to be replaced after a few years. The screens have gotten better but they still scratch and break. The task button wears out and needs to be replaced. These are common issues.

If what you want to do with an iPod is listen to music, you don't need to replace them very often.

If you pay $400 for an iPod is it really so unreasonable to expect them to last 4 - 5 years and to be able to fix them when needed? Based on this article it seems they will be much harder to repair and more expensive when you do.

Its a more technical article, for instance it has the pin layout for the Lighting connector and you also find out where Apple is getting their technology, the camera is from Sony, the Lighting Connector is provided by Taiwan's Foxlink, and the battery is from China's Lishen.

If you pay $400 for an iPod is it really so unreasonable to expect them to last 4 - 5 years and to be able to fix them when needed? Based on this article it seems they will be much harder to repair and more expensive when you do.

I have a 1G touch, and the battery lasts 8-9 hours on my frequent flights to Japan for music listening. So some of them do.

I imagine units that see more heavy use than mine do not last as long, but that's true of any electronic device.

"the screen is a high-quality IPS panel, but not the same caliber as that of the iPhone 5" guess I was right to be skeptical (instead of being paranoid) -- Apple cutting corners on iPod Touch is not new ...

Let's see. The Touch is $300. The iPhone is $650. Do you seriously think that having lower spec parts in a product at half the price is "cutting corners"?

Can you believe the way BMW cuts corners in their $40k 328i? It has a 240HP 4 cylinder engine where the $85k 650i has a 450HP V8.

As an ex manufacturer and designer of electronic products, I can say that there is a problem with all of this. Often, repairability goes down as reliability goes up. That's because the very aspects of design and manufacture that make a product more reliable often result in a product that's harder to repair when it does (less often) break down.

When I was a kid, in the 1950's, it could be expected that up to 25% of all electronic products could be DOA. When they went to circuit boards shortly after, that dropped to 15%. Those rates have been dropping ever since, despite the vast increase in complexity of products. Today, if a product is 5% DOA, it's considered to be poorly designed and made.

Every time a company integrates components, reliability goes up a notch, and repairability goes down. Since performance also goes up with a lot of this integration, I'm all for it.

I imagine units that see more heavy use than mine do not last as long, but that's true of any electronic device.

I dropped a 75 pound dumbbell on my 2G touch a few years ago. Months later, I cracked the screen when it flew out of my pocket while I was on stationary bike and hit the corner of a metal railing. It still works great to this day.

When the heck is this thing going to actually be released? The Apple store online keeps promising it'll ship in October, but I don't want to order now and get it near Halloween. My 3rd gen 32GB is getting a bit long in the tooth. I think I'm upgrading to a 64 GB one for the 5th gen.

When the heck is this thing going to actually be released? The Apple store online keeps promising it'll ship in October, but I don't want to order now and get it near Halloween. My 3rd gen 32GB is getting a bit long in the tooth. I think I'm upgrading to a 64 GB one for the 5th gen.

When the heck is this thing going to actually be released? The Apple store online keeps promising it'll ship in October, but I don't want to order now and get it near Halloween. My 3rd gen 32GB is getting a bit long in the tooth. I think I'm upgrading to a 64 GB one for the 5th gen.

There's a limited number in the Apple stores. I'd think phoning around would be the quickest way to get one in hand.

I had to fix our iPod touch. They're not indestructible around toddlers and we couldn't afford another $200 on a new one.

Harder to repair than the last gen? Not sure I'd even attempt it. The last gen iPod Touch was already a pain in the ass to fix...

When computers were not small enough to fit in one's hand or one's pocket, they were often placed in a room inaccessible - or less accessible - to toddlers and children apt to "play with them." Nowadays, computers are small enough to fit in our hands and our pockets, but they are not toys. Nor are they memo pads made of paper and cardboard.

A simple piece of advice to those who often see their small devices needing physical repair - don't treat your handheld devices - phones, iPods, tablets, laptops, ultrabooks, notebooks - as you would their pre-computer counterparts of the same size. Toddlers will always like to play with things that fit in their hands (and their mouths) regardless of any knowledge of their value or their fragility.

It's not just toddlers. People of all ages abuse their handheld and portable devices. It is as if these people have a silly rule in their heads, "If it's light enough to throw, throw it across the room to me!" or "If it's easy to shove across the table, or the bed, shove away!"

Now, I'm well aware that throwing, catching and shoving alone will not break a product, unless done so consistently to weaken hinges, clog ports and fans, or damage spinning drives. The problem is that humans make more mistakes than computers. Or, to put it another way, we drop things.

Here's a trick. Imagine these devices are an expensive piece of gourmet food. Would you let a toddler near a $200 slice of cake..or the caviar? Would you throw a $399 bottle of wine across the bed? Or perhaps heed the words of a world-class pastry chef, who once told me, "Treat the cake like you would a woman..." That may not work for toddlers, in which case, just pretend it's your car.

Also. There is a very useful accessory called a bumper. They're about $20.

While it's cool to see the inside of devices, iFixit has a history of making assumptions about what certain parts do, and sometimes gets things mixed up.

As far as anybody knows right now, the iPod touch uses the same exact IPS LCD panel as the iPhone 5, although the assembly around the panel is a bit cheaper. It's a "win-win" situation, as it saves Apple money when they buy massive amounts at once ("buy more save more"), and it's a win for the users who get a nicer looking screen.

In the teardown, they comment on the funky "wiggly" ribbon cable. It probably has to do with needing a certain cable length for proper signaling/timing with the new Lightning connector. The older 4th gen iPod touch had a thin strip of circuit board that traveled down the side. The ribbon cable is probably another cost-cutting measure, but it also allows Apple to make the device thinner and lighter.

The only thing that kinda irks me is how they got rid of the ambient light sensor.

Seriously, how many people actually fix these things? I think the iFixit guys just like to take stuff apart.

Ditto. The more integrated technology becomes, the more irrelevant this becomes. I am all for taking stuff appart but, I am not sure that anyone considers ease of repair when deciding between phones. At the most, I would be likely to replace the battery.

Case in point, my friend found a dropped iphone 4S the other day in an elevator shaft. He took it appart and found the main circuit board was cracked. Purchasing a new circuit board is more expensive than buying the phone under contract.

There is one thing that I don't like about the Touch. It costs as much as the iPhone but always gets the previous generation iPhone internals. If I'm paying that much money don't get me an old cpu and cheaper components inside.

There is one thing that I don't like about the Touch. It costs as much as the iPhone but always gets the previous generation iPhone internals. If I'm paying that much money don't get me an old cpu and cheaper components inside.

The iPhone actually costs almost twice as much, but carrier subsidies (with two-year agreement!) give the appearance that they are the same price.

Aaand, new iPod Touch snagged, yay! Had to drive downtown over lunch, but it's now in my hot little hands. It's amazingly thin and light. I'll have to upgrade iTunes when I get home, in order to finish setting it up. BTW, it seems to come mostly charged up from the factory.